Northern Maine mud season #1

Northern Maine is a very beautiful place. I have lived here all my life and have learned to adapt to the season changes. However, the hardest change comes in between the winter and spring season. We call that " mud season." Our winter season has had a very noticeable change from when I was young until today. We could always gauge the winter by the amount of snow that fell. The actual gauge was how close the snow was to the power line on the telephone pole. I recall many a time when the snow came close to reaching that mark. I can remember older folks telling us that you haven't experienced a good old fashion northern Maine winter until you can stand on the top of the snow mountain and reach the top of the telephone poles. There has been a profound change in that measurement over the years as I cannot recall in the last 40 years when the snow reached the wires on the poles. Having said that, we have adapted to the transition in snow coverage and the timeframe when we receive snow and when it leaves us. Other that a couple of heavy snow fall years, we have had snow late in the year and it leaves early. This year is no exception. While southern Maine struggled to get any amount of measurable snow, we had several snowfalls that resulted in amounts sufficient to partake in our winter activities. Skiing and snowmobiling are the mainstay of our winter season. The white gold brings many a winter sports enthusiast to our little corner of the state, and brings much needed revenue to our hotels, restaurants and shops. The problem is that over the past couple of years, our winter window has been getting smaller and smaller. Here we are on March 12, and the recent warmup has caused the snowpack to get smaller. The long range forecast gives us little hope of replenishing our white gold, although there is hope. The result is what we call here, mud season which is the change from winter to spring and the transition from white to brown and then eventually green. That transition causes us to stop and pause waiting for the time when we can move from winter sports to spring and fishing season. Due to the shorter winters, the wait is longer and longer. Spring melting causes the woods roads to become wet and muddy and also causes some of the roads in the Northern Maine Woods to be impassable. Many of those roads take you to some of the best fishing spots in Maine. The fact that fishing season does not start until April 1, makes for a long time between the transition. Often times, you can not even fish in the North Maine woods due to muddy roads and ice still settling firmly on the ponds. However, those of us that have lived here all our lives know that the time will come when the snow will be gone and the road crews will begin their work of grading the woods roads so we can make that transition from winter to spring. For me, there is much anticipation for the day I can cast my first fly of the year on that peaceful pond. When that occurs, you know that we have successfully weathered another "mud season."